The present invention relates to rolling stock and a method for equipping the interior of the same; more particularly, the invention relates to a rolling stock equipping structure suitable for equipping rolling stock with miscellaneous equipment, including thermal insulating fixtures and interior finishing Parts.
The reduction in weight of the body structure of rolling stock for reducing noise or power consumption has become more important with the progressive enhancement of the traveling speed of railway trains. The body structure of rolling stock is exposed to high positive and negative pressures varying in a wide range due to variation of the external pressure while the rolling stock is running through a tunnel at a high traveling speed of 200 km/hr or above. Therefore, the body structure of the rolling stock must have an improved pressure resistance, as well as a sufficiently high shearing rigidity and a sufficiently high bending rigidity. A body structure proposed to meet such requirements, as proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open (Kokai) No. 3-90468, employs aluminum honeycomb panels constructed by joining the component parts by brazing.
When attaching equipment to the interior structure of conventional rolling stock provided with equipment and screw seats welded thereto, the equipment is positioned in place by gauging, and then threaded holes are formed in which screws are inserted.
Since each piece of equipment requires positioning by gauging, much time and labor is required to fit out the rolling stock. Another structure, as proposed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication (Kokoku) No. 60-9096, is provided with equipment rails on its ceiling structure, and pieces of interior equipment, particularly, ceiling equipment, are assembled in a unit, the unit of interior equipment then being fitted on or attached with screws to the equipment rails.
The face plates of the aluminum honeycomb panels employed by the known equipment structure are comparatively thin aluminum alloy plates so that the aluminum honeycomb panels have a lightweight construction. Therefore, it is inappropriate, from the viewpoint of maintaining a holding rigidity, to attach equipment directly to the aluminum honeycomb panels with screws. Furthermore, welding the screw seats, which usually are thin plates, or the like, to the face plates of the aluminum honeycomb panel requires advanced techniques and very difficult work to secure reliability in the installation.
Although the arrangement of the equipment rails of the latter known equipping structure, for holding units of interior equipment is not described in detail, presumably, the equipment rails are welded to the frame members of the equipping structure. Accordingly, the application of this equipping structure to the body structure of rolling stock employing the aforesaid panels still provides many problems to be solved with respect to the strength of the equipping rail setting arrangement and the reliability of the installation.